Beast of Torpor
Composer: Micah Hummel + Filmmaker: Jeff Oliver
Read “Making Space”, an interview with composer Micah Hummel by Kristin Thiel.
Read “Slaying the Beast of Expectation”, an interview with filmmaker Jeff Oliver by Kristin Thiel.
Directed by Jeff Oliver, music composed by Micah Hummel, featuring Vaughn Kimmons as “The Artist”, Director of Photography: Aldolfo Cantu-Villarreal, Assistant Camera: Kim Gonzalez, Assistant Camera: Angela Lares-Benitez, Gaffer: Vo Minh McBurney, Production Designer: Jeff Oliver, Puppet Operator: Stu Davis, Production Assistant: Jolly Wrapper, edited by Jeff Oliver.
Jeff Oliver is a media educator, filmmaker, writer, and former stand-up comedian. He has appeared at the Bridgetown Comedy Festival, on NPR’s Tell Me More, and once as a question on Wait, Wait…Don’t Tell Me. Since 2012, he has been a teaching artist using PBL (Project Based Learning) to create short films with youth. In the Portland area, he has worked with: Open Signal, The Hollywood Theatre, Portland Center Stage, OMSI, Open School North, The Emerson School, Art4Life, and at MacLaren Youth Correctional Facility in Woodburn. He spent seven summers teaching at Buck’s Rock Performing & Creative Arts Camp in New Milford, Connecticut. His documentary about the camp, A Summer To Discover, premiered in 2017. He is currently in pre-production for Redline, a Black horror film about gentrification.
Music Title: “Retroscript” by Micah Hummel, performed by Micah Hummel (drum set, sensory percussion, acoustic guitar) and Alex Meltzer (synthesizer), recorded at Crossroads Productions, recorded by Sacha Muller, mixed by Sacha Muller, mastered by Dana White.
Portland, Oregon-based drummer, composer, and educator Micah Hummel has established himself as an essential player in the creative music scene in the Pacific Northwest. After moving to Portland in 2013, he has become a first-call collaborator with artists including George Colligan, Portland Jazz Composers Ensemble, Barra Brown, Machado Mijiga, Moorea Masa, Coco Columbia and others. Honing his craft throughout the last decade, he is known for his specialty in cross-genre sounds and contemporary jazz. He has performed in venues from Toronto and Beijing to Amsterdam, Berlin, and Vienna. He regularly performs with local projects including Sama Dams, Integer, and the Micah Hummel/Alex Meltzer Duo. Hummel is endorsed by Canopus Drums and Sunhouse Technologies.